


Good Cry

by shades_0f_cool



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Disney Movies, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23610778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shades_0f_cool/pseuds/shades_0f_cool
Summary: It’s just Eren’s luck to be in the middle of crying his eyes out when he meets the guy of his dreams.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 13
Kudos: 251





	Good Cry

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KaikaKaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaikaKaze/gifts).



> Happy Easter, Din! This is my little contribution to the Easter bash we want to treat you to! The last few weeks have been anything but easy, so I hope this puts a smile on your face. Fühl dich gedrückt! ♥

There are three things Eren undoubtedly owns:

1\. his mom’s vivid green eyes

2\. his dad’s anger issues

3\. his very own piece of stupidity.

Because what else would you call making the same mistakes over and over again?

“Eren, please,” his mom had said while he’d tied his shoes as fast as he could. “I know it’s not easy, but can’t you just . . . can’t you just try?” Her hands had been threaded together, pleading, and her eyes glossy. 

God, Eren hates disappointing her, absolutely despises it. The thing is, he _is_ trying. In fact, he never _stops_ trying, otherwise he wouldn’t keep coming to Sunday family dinner only to have his head bitten off by his dad, again. He wouldn’t be on the verge of tears for failing to be the son his dad wants, _again._

And now he’s here, at the train station in his hometown of bumfuck nowhere, Wyoming, waiting for the last train to take him back to the city. He should have insisted they skipped this week’s family dinner since his car hasn’t come back from the shop yet, but his mom had been so excited about him acing his finals that she’d promised Sirloin steak, and Eren . . . well, Eren has never been strong enough to say no to Sirloin steak. 

Joke’s on him. They didn’t even make it to the steak before first blood.

Eren pulls his parka tighter around himself and watches his breath make little puffs in the cold air. Of course it’s the middle of January, probably not even ten degrees, when he finally decides enough is enough and storms out of his parents’ house.

He doesn’t want to think about that shitshow of a family dinner. It takes all he has to keep the tears at bay as it is, he doesn’t need a replay of tonight’s events as additional ammo. If only it were that easy. He should know better than to let any of his father’s cutting remarks get to him; it’s just that sometimes all the effort in the world isn’t enough. Eren wishes he knew where things went so god-awful between them, because that’s not how it used to be. It’s not how it used to be at all, and Eren refuses to believe the dad who taught him how to ride a bike has turned into this bitter asshole somewhere along the way.

It’s only a few minutes more until Eren hears the oncoming train. In his rush to get out of his parents’ house earlier, he forgot to grab his gloves and now he’s paying the price for it. His fingers are icicles once he finally makes it on the train and it takes him three attempts to open the first compartment he comes across, which is blessedly empty.

He curls into the corner and breathes warm air into his hands until they are back to feeling like an actual part of his body. He’s not out of the woods yet, though. He can feel it in the pounding of his heart and the sting behind his eyes. He takes a deep breath and focuses on what he can make out of the passing landscape on the other side of the window. It doesn’t help. It also doesn’t help that his dad keeps calling him.

Eren knows what he needs in times like these: a good cry. Just let it all out and be done with it, move on. His compartment _is_ empty . . . but he can’t just start a full-on crying fest on the train, can he? _Can he?_

Right. What he needs is an excuse, something to make him feel better about the twenty-two-year old crybaby he’s about to turn into.

He gets his tablet from his backpack and browses through his movie collection until something catches his eye.

_The Lion King._

Okay, might be a bit overkill, but today pretty much calls for overkill, so he’s good. In for a penny, in for a pound. 

He plugs in his earbuds and taps _play._

Maybe he should have expected it, but this time watching it is so much worse than all the other times. Usually it takes the looming of the dreaded wildebeest scene for Eren to tear up, but today is different, today he’s sniffling hard by the time baby Simba is presented to the kingdom, which happens like ten minutes into the movie. By the time Mufasa falls to his death, the waterworks are well underway and soaking his cheeks and the collar of his hoodie.

And because this day hasn’t sucked enough, that’s exactly when the door to his compartment slides open and a man steps in.

From the corner of one puffy eye, Eren can see that the man’s lips are moving. Eren can’t make out what he is saying with the movie still booming in his ears, so he figures the stranger is asking whether the seat opposite Eren is taken. Some hysteric urge inside Eren wants him to say slash yell _YES!_ and make the guy get out of here as fast as possible, for purely humanitarian reasons. Eren’s crying fests enjoy a certain reputation after all, and he could do well without subjecting a totally innocent stranger to that spectacle. That’s one thing. The other thing is that he doesn’t like to be rude for no reason, so he attempts a nod without showing too much of his face. Why in the world did he go for this movie after he’s gotten out of another fight with his dad? He clearly didn’t think this through. The tablet has slipped from his lap to the floor, and _oh god,_ it’s the scene – the scene where Simba is trying to wake up his dad and Eren can’t see it, just hear it, and for some reason, that’s a dozen times worse. And then it happens. A sob escapes before he can hit _pause_ on the movie - a broken gurgle of a thing - and Eren debates faking a blackout like he’s done that one time in high school when the stranger reaches over and tugs one of his earbuds free.

“Are you okay?” he asks, and Eren . . . and Eren . . . _sobs_. Again. Right here, right in front of this gorgeous man who’s sweet enough to care and looks genuinely concerned and not even a tiny little bit freaked out by Eren’s nightly meltdown on a train.

And the man isn’t just sweet and considerate. Nope, he’s also beautiful, full-on drop-dead gorgeous, with smoky grey eyes and raven hair that looks softer than silk and now Eren is staring; staring _and_ crying. It’s a miracle the man isn’t fleeing the scene in terror. 

“What’s wrong? Do you need me to get someone?”

That’s it, Eren can’t do this any longer. This man is too nice for the silent treatment, so Eren grabs his tablet and tilts it so the man can see what’s on the screen. 

The man raises a perfectly plucked eyebrow. Even his eyebrows are beautiful. “ _The Lion King?”_ Eren nods. “You’re crying because of _The Lion King?”_ Eren nods again. “Really?” 

The man doesn’t sound concerned anymore. Now he sounds amused. Eren braces for the inevitable mockery, the quiet laugh and incredulous shake of the head, but it never comes. In fact, the expression on the man’s face when Eren sneaks another peek at him is something like fond, something like . . . sympathetic. 

And then the man gets up and Eren watches him come over to join him on his bench.

What? 

He’s sitting close enough for their shoulders to brush every now and then, and Eren’s breath hitches every time they do. The man smells absolutely amazing, like leather, a slight tinge of tobacco and Grey Flannel cologne. Eren recognizes the scent instantly because he’s the only person he knows who’s utterly gung-ho about Grey Flannel cologne. 

The man glances at the tablet screen. “The worst part is over,” he says. Then he smiles, and it’s so stunning Eren forgets to cry. Or breathe. “You made it.” 

Eren’s still a bit dazed, but he manages a nod. “I’m sorry. This movie never fails to get to me.” 

“Don’t apologize,” the man says, “It’s _Bambi_ for me. I always tear up watching it.” 

Eren shudders just thinking about that movie. “Duh. That one is brutal. I saw it once when I was little and I’m still not over it.”

The man chuckles. It’s a sound that makes Eren want to curl into his side just to be a little closer to it. “I’m Eren. Sorry for the, uh . . . first impression.”

Now the man is laughing. Eren inches a little closer, just a teeny, tiny bit, and hopes the man doesn’t notice. There’s something about him that makes Eren feel comforted. He’s craving comfort right now. 

“Don’t worry, it was a memorable one. I like memorable,” the man says with an affectionate smirk. “It’s nice to meet you, Eren. I’m Levi.”

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Eren can’t stop smiling, but then again, it seems like neither can Levi. When Eren leans in this time, he doesn’t even try to be subtle. He offers one of his earbuds to Levi. “Want to join me?” 

They watch _Bambi_ next and both tear up side by side, which is the perfect excuse to huddle together. By the time Eren gets off the train with Levi’s hand in his and his number saved into his phone, the world looks all the brighter. 


End file.
